Monday’s second Euro 2016 fixture sees Republic of Ireland face a tricky tie against a Sweden side that has been tough to break down in recent matches.
In their last two friendlies Sweden beat Wales 3-0 and also failed to concede in a 0-0 draw with Slovenia. At the other end of the pitch captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be looking to add to his 62 goals in 113 appearances for his country. Of these 11 came during a stellar qualification campaign that saw him notch 50 goal attempts, more than any other player.
In contrast, the Republic of Ireland were beaten 2-1 by Belarus and conceded again in their 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in a pre-tournament build up blighted by injury concerns to key players, including Robbie Keane and Jonathan Walters. Martin O’Neill’s side also have the oldest squad in the tournament, with an average age of 29, and have lost five times and drawn on three occasions in their last 10 clashes with Sweden.
